Wellness for Seniors offers programs to keep you young, active

“I can’t do that anymore. I’m not young like you.” This is something that I often hear from clients during our exercise classes or when we try something new. There seems to be this idea that as we age our abilities somehow lessen and a frequently heard phrase from older adults becomes, “I can’t do that anymore.”

While changes do occur as we age, such as appetite and body composition, I’m not sure that we give ourselves the credit for what we’re truly capable of. I believe a lot of this stems from a fear that if we somehow make the decision to reach a little further that we might be disappointed or even have a fall.

We’re surrounded by images of seniors aging in long-term care homes and sometimes these images aren’t always pretty. There can be complications including multiple chronic conditions, sometimes our memories are affected and wheelchairs can be found around the building. We are torn because we want to live forever, but we don’t want to live so long that we have to experience all of those issues. As we age, the future can become daunting. We struggle between wanting to take care of our bodies so that the rest of our lives are as healthy and comfortable as possible to wanting to enjoy our last days, which includes eating that cake we avoided for so many years. The question remains, where on earth do we go from here?

Eight years ago the Wellness for Seniors program was created with the goal of helping older adults live in their homes for as long as possible. However we don’t just want you to live in your homes as long as possible, we want to help older adults thrive and to reignite that passion for life. We hold a firm belief that you are never too old to pick a new goal or dream a new dream. Our program was established to build links across the board for all seniors and adults with complex needs in hopes of enabling folks to access the right service in the right place at the right time by the right person.

Next came the creation of the Wellness for Seniors collaboration, this initiative includes the partnership of Perth and Huron counties where we essentially come together to enhance current programs as well as look to the creation of new programs to best fit our client’s needs. Our fearless leader Kathy Dingwell helps to steer our ship and view programs in a new light, while encouraging us to always push onward and create new programs so that we are always one step ahead.

The question still remains, where do we go from here? We know that wellness has many components of health and fitness. We also know that the body responds to physical activity in ways that have important positive effects on musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine system. We recognize that the exercising component of wellness has many health benefits for us, but let’s not forget one of the most important components of wellness – our well-being. Studies have shown that regular participation in physical activity appears to reduce depression and anxiety; it can improve our mood as well as enhance our ability to perform daily tasks throughout the life span. Our hope is that through our exercise, education, assessments, screening and management programs we can help you get the most ‘bang for your buck’, so to speak. At the end of the day, if you don’t take care of yourself – who will?